Re: Make ethanol free gas

Re: Make ethanol free gas

Sat Feb 02, 2013 11:09 am

It might make sense to do this for your small engines, like weed eaters, chain saws, etc. but Mo. has been 10% ethanol mandatory for somewhere between 10 and 15 years, and I have not had any fuel system problems in that amount of time with my tractors. I do not know if it helps with the ethanol fuel, but I do add Stabil to my gas when I fill the cans at the station, i was doing it before the ethanol and have kept on.

Re: Make ethanol free gas

Sat Feb 02, 2013 11:22 am

The best insurance to maintain the maximum longevity from today's motor fuels is absolute air tight storage containers. If you don't plan on using a whole tank of gas, don't fill the tank. Pour in only as much as you will use to prevent the gas in the vented tank from going stale.

Of course this goes against all advice of keeping the tank full to prevent corrosion. You will have to decide on the lesser of two evils.

Re: Make ethanol free gas

Sat Feb 02, 2013 1:37 pm

Ethanol-free gas is available in SW MO. Eaglestop and Signal both have it in 92 octane. That's all I use in the Cubs or any of the Briggs & Stratton's. Costs a few cents more but I think it's worth it to avoid problems. As for motorcycles, I once rode a Yamaha almost 100 miles on Coleman fuel when I ran out of gas a ways from home on a Sunday during one of the 70's gas shortages. I forgot that the stations were closed on Sunday till I hit reserve (young GI at the time). Stopped at a Wal Mart and got the Coleman fuel--it got me home!

Re: Make ethanol free gas

Sat Feb 02, 2013 2:30 pm

Fortunately for me no ethanol gas is available in Va., I have three service stations within 5 miles of home that have it. I started using it about 2 years ago and even though it costs more I believe it is worth the extra cost.Berlin

Re: Make ethanol free gas

Sat Feb 02, 2013 4:14 pm

I don't have any EtOH free fuel in my county. Some time back I was up in Sequatche Co. Tenn for a funeral, and I found a couple of stations selling straight gas (about the same price as other regular gas containing the ethonal). I went to Wally World and purchased a gas can and smuggled 5 gal. back to Birmingham for use in my 2-cycle engines. I try to keep 15 or 20 gal of gas on hand for my generator and outdoor equipment, but even with a fuel stabilizer I fear keeping it for more than six months. I periodically dump all my gas into my car and truck and purchase fresh. Since it was time for the container of ethanol free gas to go, I did not have any fresh fuel that I wanted to use in my 2 cycle engines. I broke down and bought a quart of the pre-mixed fuel sold at the small engine store in order to winterize the 2 cycles. I emptied the various gas tanks and poured a splash in each one. I cranked each engine up and ran it dry with the expensive fuel. Hopefully this will keep deposits from clogging the carburetors.

Re: Make ethanol free gas

Sat Feb 02, 2013 7:16 pm

Here's my opinion, and it's exactly that, just an opinion.

Gasoline is way too dangerous to be messing with, in any way, other than fueling a vehicle. All those plastic tubing, funnels, and cans are great, and cheap, but they also make LOTS of static electricity. I have done Health & Safety work for many companies in the past 20 years of my career, and have a degree in Environmental Health & Safety. If someone in one of our labs told me they were going to do this, even with glassware instead of plastic, in a temperature controlled lab with a correct, explosion proof fume hood, I would tell them NO WAY! It's just stupid to even try this. If an insurance company found out you were doing it, your insurance would go through the roof. Should something actually happen, maybe catch your garage on fire, and the insurance company/fire examiner found out that you were "distilling fuel" at home, they'd laugh at you and turn and walk away with all that insurance premium money you've paid over all of those years.

Secondly, the first thing they tell you is to go buy premium unleaded fuel because you are going to lower the octane by removing the ethanol. Tell you what, around here I can buy premium unleaded, ethanol free gas, for about 30-cents more per gallon than 87 octane with ethanol, and it's only about 10-cents more than premium with ethanol. Matter of fact, that's what I run in my Pathfinder and most of my equipment. So, sit down and add up all the cost of your tubing, cans, etc., and see how many gallons of gas you have to buy to break even at 10-cents per gallon. Oh yea, don't forget to add in a little bit for your time.... and maybe you should set aside a little of your "savings" as "accident fund" (see above).

Third, and this is kind of a big one, what the hell do you do with the waste gas/ethanol/water that you've now created? Don't even get me started.

In my opinion, and again, what I said above, this is a real easy way to get hurt, make a mess, screw up some equipment (sure, yea, all that water comes right out of the gas!?!?!? Don't we do just about everything we can possibly do to make sure water NEVER gets into gas!!!), waste a lot of time and money, for basically little to no actual benefit.

If you want ethanol free gas, pony up the $$ and save yourself a ton of trouble in the long run!

I read the majority of this thread, and I have to say that this is not the smartest thing I have heard of. I have a healthy respect for volatile compounds, you don't finish for over 40 years and live to tell about it if you don't. Same thing applies to POL. In the Navy we were trained to handle fuel safely and with a healthy respect simply because of the damage the slightest error could incur.

Since we have gotten our new Honda, I have no choice, We must use Top Tier Fuel - Shell happens to be my choice. Also 4 of the local Shell stations are Ethanol Free which makes me a happy camper. However, it comes with a price. Fuel is about 1.5 cents/litre more expensive for ethanol free than it is for 10%. It is a cost I have no problem paying for. The 2000 DGC does not like ethanol, we discovered that when we went to Maine the time with it. Either ran rough or simply died. Didn't like that fuel at all. So now it gets a diet of regular 87 octane ethanol free at Shell. So does our new to us, '99 DGC Handi Conversion.

When I am using ethanol products and sometimes I simply cannot avoid it (I am frugal so I take advantage of coupons/loyalty cash) so I have started using stabilizers with all the fuel that isn't ethanol free. For storage time all the fuel gets stabilizer, but during the normal run of the season, it doesn't last long enough to warrant stabilizer all the time in the ethanol free stuff. I started with StaBil, but have moved over to SeaFoam. I like it better. Well worth the extra expense.

As Bill said:

gitractorman wrote:If you want ethanol free gas, pony up the $$ and save yourself a ton of trouble in the long run!

Re: Make ethanol free gas

Sun Feb 03, 2013 12:32 am

I do believe you can buy it near the Warrior River outside of Bessemer (ethanol free gas). I also buy it in Prattville, AL when I'm there. There are 3 or 4 stations next to the interstate that offer it there.

thiggy wrote:I don't have any EtOH free fuel in my county. Some time back I was up in Sequatche Co. Tenn for a funeral, and I found a couple of stations selling straight gas (about the same price as other regular gas containing the ethonal). I went to Wally World and purchased a gas can and smuggled 5 gal. back to Birmingham for use in my 2-cycle engines. I try to keep 15 or 20 gal of gas on hand for my generator and outdoor equipment, but even with a fuel stabilizer I fear keeping it for more than six months. I periodically dump all my gas into my car and truck and purchase fresh. Since it was time for the container of ethanol free gas to go, I did not have any fresh fuel that I wanted to use in my 2 cycle engines. I broke down and bought a quart of the pre-mixed fuel sold at the small engine store in order to winterize the 2 cycles. I emptied the various gas tanks and poured a splash in each one. I cranked each engine up and ran it dry with the expensive fuel. Hopefully this will keep deposits from clogging the carburetors.

Re: Make ethanol free gas

Sun Feb 03, 2013 5:45 am

Fortunately here in East Tennessee we still have 100% gas available from several close-by stations. I run 100% gas in all my lawn & garden tractors (including the Cub) and my 1928 Hit & Miss gas engine. I have enough eagle containers & Jerry cans to hold about 30 gallons at a time, and stabilize it all with Seafoam. As for my cars...I run 100% gas in my 2002 Mountaineer SUV, and my wife's SUV gets the Ethanol reduced to 5% by cutting it with 100% gas (50-50). What I'm noticing now at gas stations is that the "contains up to 10% Ethanol" decals on the pumps are being replaced by stickers that just say "All Grades Contain Ethanol". These must be the stickers of the near future, so now no one will know what the percentage of Ethanol will be ??? ...'Country'

Re: Make ethanol free gas

Sun Feb 03, 2013 9:10 am

I have been using ethanol as in everything ever since it came out. I have never had any trouble that I could blame on the gas. I even used it inmy old outboard motor. In fact, I filled the tank in the spring and it lasted all summer( don't use it a lot), and did not have any problems with it. Now, with my emergency generator, I us non-ethanol gas because it sets for so long, and I add Sea-Foam to it. I have used it in the Cub for the last 12+ years, and it is often a couple months between fills, or longer. No problems yet.

Re: Make ethanol free gas

Sun Feb 03, 2013 9:36 am

For what it's worth I live in an agricultural area. Lots of older tractors still working. Until two years ago I could drive five miles and buy ethanol free gas. There was always a line mostly farmers. Then they said they could not get it. The next place that sold it was 15 miles away. Since then there have been more and more stations selling real gas. Some up to a dollar more than the 10%. The demand must be there. What I do know is that ethanol screwed up the fuel system in the Subaru and the Koehler 25 in the mower. BTW the Co-Op in the next county sells nothing but ethanol free gas.

Re: Make ethanol free gas

Sun Feb 03, 2013 10:03 am

RogerW wrote:I have been using ethanol as in everything ever since it came out. I have never had any trouble that I could blame on the gas. I even used it inmy old outboard motor. In fact, I filled the tank in the spring and it lasted all summer( don't use it a lot), and did not have any problems with it. .

Me too. To tell the truth I think a lot of the hubbub about ethanol is just that--a lot of fuss over a problem that doesn't really exist 90% of the time. Gas around here is 10% ethanol and I haven't changed a thing as far as how our gas tractors are fueled. The only thing I will say is we don't store a lot of gas. If the tank is getting low I take the 5 gal. can and fill it up. When that gets low I go get another one. I refuse to spend the extra 10-15 cents a gallon for 93 octane when it has yielded no performace improvement. I did dump a little seafoam in the Super A and the Cub last fall before they hibernated for the winter, just because I heard so much about it here, but prior experience suggested it was not needed.

The whole issue reminds me of when they stopped making leaded gas. The world was gonna end then too.... Al